As Christmas draws near, keeping children focussed on their lessons can be a challenge for teachers. But it’s not impossible. It is not necessary to fill every moment with Christmas themed activities, but a few interspersed throughout the day can be motivating and lift everyone’s spirits. Activities that promote children’s learning should always take precedence over time fillers.
To assist teachers keep the focus on learning while children would rather be thinking of Christmas and holidays, I have prepared a range of lessons and suggestions for use in different subject areas. Many of the lessons and suggestions integrate learning across curriculum areas. All readilearn Christmas themed activities can be found under the Cultural Studies tab in the subcategory Christmas.
Focus on the children
A great place to start is always with the children and their family’s traditions.
Begin with a survey to find out which children in the class do and do not celebrate Christmas. While you will already have an idea of which children do, it can be an interesting way to begin the discussion of different cultural traditions celebrated by children in your class.
The main ingredient in any of these discussions should always be respect, and it is important to find ways of making classroom activities inclusive.
How many school days until Christmas?
Advent Calendars that count down the twenty-five December days until Christmas are great for families to use in the home but not so suitable for school. What about counting down the school days until Christmas? Twenty-five school days would mean starting at least five weeks before school finishes, which might be a bit soon, so choose another number which suits your program. Fifteen (three weeks) could be a good number. (Note: If, for inclusivity, you didn’t wish to count down to Christmas, you could count down to the holidays.)
A countdown calendar
Schedule opportunities for the children to present information about their family traditions as part of the countdown.
Continue reading: Christmas classroom activities that focus on learning – Readilearn
Norah Colvin 
Love your resources, Norah! Excellent for my ESL learners at TAFE!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, Robin. I’m so pleased you find them useful.
LikeLike
Excellent post with fun activities. And, there are many PBs out to support activities and traditions. Especially historical fiction stories about the first Christmas tree introduced in England, Christmas tree farms, traditions around the world, Santa getting lost and NORAD stepping in to track and guide his sleigh, homelessness during the holidays etc.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks so much, Patricia. You are right, there are many wonderful picture books that support the activities and traditions. Some of the stories are quite fascinating, others heartwarming, and others that show us how to be compassionate and care for each other. Every one has a place.
LikeLike
What a great post, Norah. This is such a challenging time to teach–when kids are thinking of the upcoming fun. These look like good choices.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, Jacqui. They are fun activities, but they also focus on learning.
LikeLike
Reblogged this on So, You Think You Can Teach ESL? and commented:
Christmas is already next month, and these are some great activities to try in the classroom!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks so much for sharing, Ketan. I hope you and your colleagues find the lessons and activities useful.
LikeLiked by 1 person